The Reluctant Dragon

by Katie Daynes

Whoever heard of a dragon who doesn't like fighting? And what will happen when Saint George comes to stay? Simply written in lively, flowing text Usborne First Reading books are designed to capture the imagination and build the confidence of beginner readers. This book includes links to downloadable worksheets and teacher’s notes.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

Published April 23, 2013

About the author

Katie has been writing non-fiction children's books for almost half her life and loves questioning the world from a child's point of view. She's developed some of Usborne's bestselling series, including the See Inside books and the Lift-the-Flap Questions & Answers series.

Reviews

[Camilla Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is based on the story by Kenneth Grahame - author of the Wind in the Willows - and has been retold by Katie Daynes and also Lesley Sims, for children who are learning to read.

Sam befriends a lonely dragon who loves telling stories, unfortunately however one day the dragon is discovered by the villagers who are terrified! Even worse, Saint George 'the dragon killer' comes to fight the dragon. The dragon doesn't want to fight and hopes Sam will find a way to stop Saint George finding him. After hearing Saint George talk of how terrible the dragon is, Sam tells him he is wrong, and that the dragon wouldn't hurt a fly. The villagers however want Saint George to fight the dragon, so Sam decides to take Saint George to meet him. Sam has a clever idea for the dragon and Saint George to have a pretend fight in front of the village. Saint George wins and invites the dragon to a feast in the village; the villagers are happy they got to see a fight, and the dragon is happy with his new friends.

I really enjoyed reading this book, because despite it being a short picture book, the story was retold really well. It has a great hidden message of treating everybody nicely, and accepting everyone for who they are, which I think is important to teach young children. This could definitely be read to a whole class, but equally may be good for one on one reading, especially if a child could gain some important lessons from the book.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book with a dragon, who is actually a very nice dragon, and a boy, who becomes his friend. Unfortunately, the villagers want the dragon to fight someone who will kill the dragon. The boy comes up with a pretty clever solution to help his friend. Great for kids who like books with dragons and friendship.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun George and the dragon tale! It is a wonderful tale of how no one really fits in with others' preconceived notions.
The multiple narrators resulted in an old style radio play.

Listened using Chirpbooks.com.

[Sam Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted the dragon to defeat the knight

[Lex Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a lonely Dragon, a fearless Knight and a little boy who sees the best in everyone.

[Yelena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming little story!

I think the boy is a real hero in this story! And St George comes 2nd!

[Hm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good💝

[Andrej Doležaj]

I didn’t like the illustrations. They were too weird and unattractive that’s why I didn’t finish the book. I will not rate it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

kept my 5yo and 7.5yo attention

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy befriends a peaceful dragon, but the locals start to fear / spread rumours about the dragon.

I thought this was an excellent short illustrated story – the underlying moral (about prejudice) was subtly developed / explored.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a likeable retelling of the classic. A good text against xenophobia. In some ways hard to read (Speech bubbles). The explanation at the end about the age of the original was cool!

[Leroy Brookens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor sound quality